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Plasma dopamine in workers exposed to urban stressor

Department of Occupational Medicine, University of Rome `La Sapienza', Viale Regina Elena 336, 00161 Rome, Italy

Assuntina Capozzella

Department of Occupational Medicine, University of Rome `La Sapienza', Viale Regina Elena 336, 00161 Rome, Italy

Manuela Ciarrocca

Department of Occupational Medicine, University of Rome `La Sapienza', Viale Regina Elena 336, 00161 Rome, Italy

Pina Fiore

Department of Occupational Medicine, University of Rome `La Sapienza', Viale Regina Elena 336, 00161 Rome, Italy

Maria Valeria Rosati

Department of Occupational Medicine, University of Rome `La Sapienza', Viale Regina Elena 336, 00161 Rome, Italy

Maria Fiaschetti

Department of Occupational Medicine, University of Rome `La Sapienza', Viale Regina Elena 336, 00161 Rome, Italy

Teodorico Casale

Department of Occupational Medicine, University of Rome `La Sapienza', Viale Regina Elena 336, 00161 Rome, Italy

Vincenza Anzelmo

Department of Occupational Medicine, Municipality of Rome, Italy

Francesco Tomei

Department of Occupational Medicine, University of Rome `La Sapienza', Viale Regina Elena 336, 00161 Rome, Italy, francesco.tomei{at}uniroma1.it

Carlo Monti

Department of Occupational Medicine, University of Rome `La Sapienza', Viale Regina Elena 336, 00161 Rome, Italy

The aim of this study is to evaluate if the occupational exposure to urban stressor could cause alterations in dopamine (DA) plasma levels and related diseases in traffic police officers compared to a control group. After excluding subjects with principal confounding factors, 306 traffic police officers (139 female and 167 male) and 301 controls (134 female and 167 male) were included in the study. In traffic police officers, mean DA values were significantly higher compared with controls (P = 0.006 and P = 0.000 in male and female, respectively). The distribution of DA values in traffic police officers and controls was significant ( P = 0.000 and P = 0.000 in male and female, respectively). The number of male traffic police officers with a positive response to the questionnaire's items concerning anxiety, depression and panic attacks was higher than controls, though not significant (7.2% traffic police officers versus 4.2% controls). This difference was also not significant in female traffic police officers compared with controls. According to our previous researches on other neuro-immune-endocrine parameters, DA could be used as an early biological marker, valuable for the group to be employed in occupational sets, even before the onset of pathology. Toxicology and Industrial Health 2007; 23: 421—427.

Key Words: air pollutants • dopamine • mental health diseases • traffic police officers • urban stressor

Toxicology and Industrial Health, Vol. 23, No. 7, 421-427 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0748233707080043


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